Nude Year.

There’s no real secret that I like to be naked, and I definitely class myself as a nudist. Many people find this a bit strange, but it’s the way I was brought up, it’s the way I choose to still live and it’s the way I came to accept my body for the way it is. I suppose that’s another thing people find weird about me: that I accept my body for the way it is, yet I am not completely happy with it.

You know, you have to accept the hand you’ve been dealt, and that’s what it is with my body. I created it, I can unmake it, and it’s a constant work in progress. People often ask me how I have become this ‘comfortable’ in my own skin, and it is the fact that usually, 95% of the time I am at home, I am completely nude.

I have very few friends who embrace this way of life, but every now and then, we come together (although usually just 1:1) to enjoy nudity and each other’s company.

Now, let’s get one thing straight: being nude is not a sexual thing, and whilst I have possibly slept with these nudist friends of mine in the past, our time spent together nude is not a sexual experience. It is purely about expressing ourselves, being comfortable and usually just having a laugh.

This New Year, my friend and I realised we had very few plans, although mine were because of work commitments and so I couldn’t really be up late for any reason. His boyfriend was potentially facing having to be out of town for work, and seeing as he only lives down the road, it was decided we would do something. This friend is a nudist friend, and so the idea came around to just spend New Year’s Eve naked, having a few drinks and a laugh – at my expense as I recounted comical stories from the last few months of my life.

Anyway, in the end, his boyfriend was able to stay in town, and so the inevitable questioning came about: should the three of us just hang out in the nude and still go ahead with plans, or should I concede to the boyfriend and spend New Years Eve alone? Turns out, my friend had told his boyfriend about me, and had described me as a “positive influence” when it comes to accepting one’s body – I don’t think I’m that much of a positive influence with anything other than loving yourself.

I was faced with a couple of questions, having to explain a few things, laying out some ground rules to the boyfriend, just so it wasn’t mistaken for an excuse to spice it up in the bedroom. But New Years Eve came around and the plans went ahead as normal. My friend came over with his boyfriend, we started to have a few drinks and the clothes came off slowly – this was for the boyfriend’s benefit as he wasn’t really classing himself as a nudist and his body hang ups were definitely holding him back.

Eventually the night involved just the three of us, having a laugh, sharing stories, having a few drinks and just being naked. All body hang ups melted away, there was nothing to worry about and the night was enjoyable, even if it ended before midnight because I was ready to fall asleep eventually.

The boyfriend messaged me once they got him and told me how he had enjoyed himself and thanked me for being a nice host, and that’s what it was really all about.

I’ll happily be an advocate for many things in life; being nude and accepting your body is one of those things. It is a great way to see exactly what you have, and that it’s not all bad even if you don’t fit some ideal. Since then, and even though we are only a few days into 2017, I have had a number of people talking to me, expressing their wishes to have nudist friends too, or have some non-sexualised nudist event. The problem always comes from how taboo being nude is, and that is wrong. Yes, there is a time and a place to be nude, but it definitely shouldn’t be outlawed completely.

I am glad of my upbringing, and I’m glad of now being able to live nude rather than feeling shamed into being clothed, especially at home. This year, I plan on trying to help as many people as I can to learn to accept their body and to help people discover the liberation of nudism if they ever need my help. I am all about self-care and self-love this year. So let’s get naked!